K-pop has truly come a long way, influencing millions. From bright and colorful costumes to perfectly choreographed dance moves, there is no other genre like it. It’s both predictable and yet completely unpredictable at the same time, catering to fans of any kind of music and usually incorporating several different languages in the same song. They call this Hallyu, or the Korean wave: the idea that South Korean pop culture has grown in prominence to become a major driver of global culture, seen in everything from Korean dramas on Netflix to Korean skincare regimens dominating the cosmetics industry to delicious Korean tacos on your favorite local menu. And at the heart of Hallyu is the ever-growing popularity of K-pop — short, of course, for Korean pop music. (vox.com)
So how did K-pop overcome the world? In 1992, a South Korean band called “Seo Taiji and Boys” performed “I Know” live in a television talent contest. They introduced a new style in the music industry back then: A mix of Korean lyrics, European pop and hip-hop and rap. But the judges didn’t like it, and the band was eliminated from the show. Little did they know that for the next 17 weeks, “I Know” smashed previous records and peaked at the top of the charts. That night in 1992, K-pop was born.
Back in the day, K-pop idols would usually be around for two to five years. Nowadays, there are groups that usually sign a 7-year contract minimum. Also, dating used to be a big ‘NO’ for our idols, this is what was believed to work in the earlier days, but they realized that its quite impossible for the stars to never fall in love. As K-pop expanded, its style has also changed. Some groups have different fusions and twists on their songs as well such as mixing a techno beat, adding catchy English phrases, and easy-to-copy synchronized signature group dance moves which fans found easy and fun to adhere to which resulted lessen the language barriers.
There are many aspects that make K-pop so popular and reasons behind it only leave us fascinated and intrigued. Being a K-pop fanatic means anticipating that idols are meant to present the aesthetics as perfectly as they should. Dance steps and vocal stylings should be perfect, even the music videos, the outfits, down to their facial expressions, everything must be on point. And this perfection would lead fans mesmerized, making them addicted to the song. While we’ve enough exposure to our favorite Western idols, it’s also nice to enter to a new different world. K-pop has changed the way we perceive music and regardless of what language or country it is from, music is music, and it demands to be heard and felt.
